Octavia Johnson

Imagine waking up at 5:00 in the morning, driving through ice and snow to build a house with 40 volunteers that are just as clueless as you. Painting walls with numb fingers, frozen toes, a runny nose and a full-size coat that seems to always brush against the wet wall you just painted.

I did this every weekend for 9 weeks straight trying to earn the 300 hours required to receive help in buying a house of my very own. I attended classes each week that taught me about the different aspects of owning a home. This was to my advantage because many homeowners are not knowledgeable about the mechanics of a house, before buying their first home.

Many believe that Habitat for Humanity gives houses away for free and some people don’t deserve them. You have to work hard for your own home. The commercials and other advertisements highlight the horrible living conditions of the less fortunate. They capture the feelings of hunger and abandonment. They show the lack of hope for better and hear words that say stop dreaming. I am a living testimony that those words and those feelings are real. Habitat for Humanity is simply a hand up. They encourage you, they love you, they help you and they dream with you.

Although, there are many non-profit organizations that prey on emotions for profit and build campaigns that help their pockets more than those they are helping, there are some groups that really help. Researching organizations will help when feeling uneasy about volunteering or donating money.

What are your feelings about Habitat for Humanity? Will you volunteer in your community?

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Animationfactory.com